No Diving
Sean Moore
Beware: shallow water.
You cannot make a well with a shallow bottom. If you’re interested in sustenance, rather than just quenching your thirst, you need to dig deep.
I’m tired of the masks. The necessary layers we must wear when we come together to communicate. I’m tired of the eggshells we have to cautiously tread over as we attend our masquerade ball. The unspoken social contract that exists between you, and me, and everyone in between that clearly states the rules: talk only about yourself, keep it light, and never call anyone’s bluff.
It’s shallow, it’s hollow. It’s meaningless. We’re so afraid of being seen as uninteresting to one another that we only engage in uninteresting conversation. We share only this thin layer of ourselves, this well-worn, gilded exterior that is no better a representation of ourselves than a sequin is of a real gem. And all the while our interesting interiors wither from lack of exposure.
Everyone has an index card prepared for every topic. A single summary sentence, to demonstrate knowledge of all things, to have an opinion on every subject, to make a quick retort or a timely joke. There is a cursory interest, a five-minute skim of Wikipedia, and you’re off to the races.
But there is no more. There is no file to pull out when we wish to discuss things further. There are no additional notes to discuss the nuances of a held viewpoint. There is not even a second note-card, a “see-also” slide to at the very least direct the conversation to something of importance, to something worth diving into deeper.
There is no intimacy of knowing. We shun true connections with one another to keep ourselves safe, to keep ourselves from drowning in the murky waters of reality. But if we never share our true selves, is there anything still worth keeping safe?
There is a ‘No Diving’ sign posted by every pool where our conversations take place. The rules are clear: it’s fine to lounge in the shallow water, or wade in cautiously in water wings. But dive-in head first, in the hope that the water is deep, and you’re likely to break your neck.
Shallow water is safe, as long as no one dives in. There are no sharks, there are no dark depths. We can see the bottom at all times.
But it is in shallow water that we forget there is still an entire ocean to explore.